Butterfly's Flight
The Butterfly's Flight was an airship designed and partially constructed by Christabel Miller in 3887 while serving as the Mistress of Science for Torlynn Castle. The ship had been intended as a replacement for the unsalvageable Mermaid's Bliss, and was named in honor of Mariposa. Christabel had yet to resolve some of the ship's design problems, and she ultimately died before construction was completed. At the request of King Wheeler, the unfinished ship remained in storage in a specially-constructed stable inside the castle courtyard. The Butterfly's Flight was approximately two stories in height and around fifty feet in length, about the size of a seafaring galleon. Unlike the previous ship, which functioned as a dirigible, the Butterfly's Flight was equipped with multiple spinning blades designed to create lift, a large one on each mast and several more on both sides. The ship was primarily powered by a battery of several storage tanks, designed to be filled with various acidic compounds (vinegar, wine, etc.). Secondary power was provided by a small steam engine, into which crewmen regularly dumped shovelsful of ice. Navigation was provided by a magnetic lodestone core that acted as a compass. She was armed with a complement of twenty cannons, ten on each side. The ship was also equipped with a small life boat which could be deployed in emergencies. After Mirabel Miller learned of the ship's existence, she arranged for Forever the dragon to steal the ship and deliver it to her, using his psychic powers to make the castle denizens forget they ever saw him take the craft. Armed with limited technical knowledge and some notes gleaned from Christabel's journal, Mirabel was successful in getting the ship operational, though it required frequent stops to effect repairs or adjustments. The ship was manned by a crew of goblins hired by Mirabel, and she used the craft in her quest to recover the scattered pieces of the World-Breaker weapon. Mirabel's intent was to rechristen the ship Xanthippe, beginning to repaint it red and gold but never finishing the job. After Four joined Mirabel's crew, the two used the ship to search for pieces of the World-Breaker weapon. To retrieve a piece from the magma geysers of Copycat Rock, they magnetized the anchor, using it to attract a piece of the weapon and carry it to safety. During one of its maintenance stops, High Priestess Axziss and a group of moth warriors snuck aboard the ship and stowed away in the cargo hold, later revealing themselves to kill the goblin crew and attempt to activate the World-Breaker. In the resultant aerial combat with Mariposa, Axziss fell into the spinning blades of the craft and was instantly killed. Meanwhile, the remaining goblins used the craft to attack Torlynn Castle, bombarding it with cannon balls. Forever attacked the goblins on board the ship, spewing flames that set the ship ablaze. With no one to pilot the craft, it plummeted into Torlynn Castle and was destroyed. Alternate Reality Attempting to prevent the reassembly of the World-Breaker, Four used the fate-shifter to travel back to the vessel during one of its maintenance stops, sabotaging the anchor's rope. In this new unfolding of reality, the piece of the World-Breaker from Copycat Rock was never retrieved, and the ship was crippled by a magma geyser blast. This version of the ship never launched an attack on Torlynn Castle. Category:Vehicles Category:Airships